April 18, 2018

The refurbishment of the Employee Relations (which also includes Payroll, Pensions and Resourcing) space of the HR Department is now complete and we have moved back from our temporary location. The reception is now situated in 4SA.6.8; to find us you will need to go in through the 4SE entrance and up the stairs toward the HR training rooms.

All phone numbers and email addresses remain unchanged so please continue to contact us in the same way.

Thank you to our colleagues who gave us shelter during this time, also a huge thank you to the teams that undertook the upgrade and moved us seamlessly back into our new offices.

Susie Morgan, Director of HR and Lyn Aldridge, her PA, have also moved back into that space.

April 4, 2018

We would like to send a big thank you to all the HEA Fellows who assisted the CADENZA team with the assessment of applications to the recent CADENZA panel in March. The Panel reviewed 32 submissions for fellowship at descriptors D1-D3, with three successful applications for Associate Fellowship, 18 for Fellowship and three from successful Senior Fellows.

Biological Sciences provided five assessors, there were two each from Law, Language and Linguistics, HSC, Mathematical Sciences, Economics and the Library, with additional assessors from the TDC, EBS and PPS. Special thanks to those assessors who assessed multiple applications. Four assessors also attended the Panel as observers and to represent the three Faculties and Professional Services to share good practice highlighted in applications from their own sections and departments.

As an institution, we now have >350 eligible Fellows (D2-D4) who can assess applications. As part of the HEA’s Code of Practice, Fellows are expected to support colleagues development, encourage excellent teaching and learning practices and promote the UKPSF. The easiest way to achieve this is to support the CADENZA team with assessment to whatever degree you can manage, whether its multiple applications for each panel or one application per year, each is helpful in its own way and much appreciated by the team and applicants. To this end, we are running a large number of moderation sessions for assessors throughout April and May in preparation for the July Panel when we anticipate c.100 applications. We are inviting all eligible Fellows to attend a moderation event (bookable on HROrganiser) which will allow them to act as an assessor. These sessions will introduce assessors to the new format of the CADENZA application, including new application and assessment forms and go through the assessment process, provide tips for assessing and applying the criteria for the four Descriptors (D1-D4). There will also be the opportunity for assessors to ask questions. All assessors must attend one of the sessions prior to assessing under the new format.

Full details of the new application and assessment process, including an assessors handbook, can be found on the newly updated Moodle pages for CADENZA.

If you have any questions about submitting an application, acting as an assessor or the responsibilities of Fellowship, please feel free to contact the CADENZA team at cadenza@essex.ac.uk

March 23, 2018

Ensuring that we reward staff fairly, based on their contribution to our community and regardless of their protected characteristics, is at the core of our values. We have been taking long-term action to improve pay equality at Essex and the Government’s call for UK employers to publish their gender pay gap data gives us a chance to assess how we’re performing.

We are making progress and we have a strategy in place, but we know we need to do more. Over the last four years our gender pay gap, which measures the difference between men’s and women’s average earnings across an organisation, has fallen by 6.2% from 24.8% in 2013 to 18.6% in 2017.

Our decision to eradicate the pay gap at professorial level has contributed to this fall and also closed the pay gap at this specific pay grade. We have no significant pay gaps between staff undertaking work of equal value , but we know there are a range of different factors that contribute to our overall gender pay gap and we need to better understand those so that we can take further targeted action to address this vital issue.

March 6, 2018

Do you aspire to take on a leadership role? Do you identify as BAME? Then this programme is for you.

As part of the University’s commitment to increasing the diversity of staff at senior levels, we are funding two places on the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education’sDiversifying Leadership programme designed to support black and minority ethnic (BAME) staff transition into leadership roles. The programme is aimed at early career BAME academics, up to senior lecturer level (or equivalent) and early career professional services staff.

The programme includes a facilitated action learning set, which will provide participants with more opportunity for small-group working and an additional skillset.

Successful applicants must be able to attend events in London on 12 April, 10 May, 6 June and 28 June.

To apply for a place please send a statement of no more than 100 words explaining why you want to take part in this programme to diversity@essex.ac.uk by Friday 23 March.

March 5, 2018

The current HR Organiser and People Manager are undergoing some changes to improve the user experience and implement some additional features. From 6 March 2018 the new look and feel will be in place. You don’t need to do anything; the changes will be there when you next log in.

HR Organiser:

What’s new?

– New look and feel

– You can now view your grade, scale point and salary under the employment tab

Hints and Tips

– Moving home? You can change your address or add a secondary address

– Keep an eye out for news, updates and tips on the home page

– Did you know you can log into HR Organiser from your smart phone?

People Manager

What’s new?

– New look and feel, fewer clicks to navigate

– Can view an absence/leave calendar for your whole team (click on the “out of office today” box on your homepage)

– Can see details of maternity/paternity and adoption leave

– Easier to approve timesheets directly

– A new summary page where you can see all your employees’ information in one place, including their annual leave balance and sickness history

Did you know?

– You can redirect your approvals when on leave by selecting “redirect your tasks” on the homepage

– You can check probation and fixed-term end dates under the personal information tab on each employee’s information page

If you have any queries please email hrorg@essex.ac.uk who will be able to assist you. If you have any queries on the information held within HR Organiser or People Manager please contact staffing@essex.ac.uk/

February 6, 2018

LGBT+ Careers Event – an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion collaboration with the Essex LGBT+ Alliance, Employability and Careers and the Students’ Union.

This now annual event offers LGBT+ students and staff a chance to hear from LGBT+ staff and students and their experiences in finding a job and then how they managed to be authentic in the workplace.

A panel of LGBT+ speakers from Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, Ford Motor Company Ltd, Essex County Council, LGBT+ staff and students from UoE will give an insight into what it means to apply for a job as an LGBT+ person. There will then be a session where delegates can ask the speakers questions in an informal setting. Afternoon tea will then be available giving everyone the opportunity to network with peers and several employers from the Essex LGBT+ Alliance.

This event is aimed at all of the University community, not just LGBT+ staff and students as we realise that many staff and students have friends or family who are LGBT+ and who may need advice and support on finding employment when they leave school or university.

January 23, 2018

Come and join us to celebrate the start of LGBT+ history month. Katy Jon Went will be returning to Essex 12pm-2pm on 1 February, to talk about the progress and regress of LGBTIQ+ rights around the world.

Katy Jon is experienced in public speaking from head and heart with humor, and guaranteed to deliver an engaging, honest and thought provoking session.

Katy’s reviews speak volumes, “Katy is immensely knowledgeable about her subject area and presents it in a very engaging and accessible way. While she is undoubtedly an intellectual heavyweight, there is no sense of superiority, and attendees at her talks genuinely feel that they could ask her anything without fear of offending her or being made to feel stupid”.

January 10, 2018

Tanya, Donna and Claire tell us about planned improvements to the way we use People Manager and HR Organiser.

Q: Why are improvements needed to HR Organiser?

A: People told us in a recent survey, that although generally they found HR Organiser to be a useful tool, some improvements were needed to make a better experience for users.

Q: What are the key areas that people told you needed to be improved?

A: The feedback we received was that people were keen to see some changes in relation to annual leave calculations, user guides and the way we present learning events.

Q: What did people like about HR Organiser?

A: The survey respondents told use that generally people felt confident making annual leaving bookings and viewing information such as payslips, P60s and personal data. People also liked that they could access information 24/7 and keep track of annual leave.

Q: How will you go about making the changes?

A: The iHR programme board is responsible for overseeing the full implementation of iTrent. Some of the changes you would like to see to the way HR Organiser and People Manager look and feel are being addressed through a systems upgrade in February 2018.

Q: Who is responsible for taking improvements forward?

A: The HR Employee Relations team, Finance Business Systems team and IT Services all have responsibility for the successful implementation and improvement of iTrent and are committed to working together to achieve this.

A: We are keen to hear from people who would be interested in undertaking some user testing. If you would like to volunteer to test out potential systems changes before they are made live please send your details to Tanya Clements, Payroll and Reward Manager.

November 23, 2017

As part of our commitment to developing our membership, we would like to make you aware of new resources, policy and development opportunities to support employees in a management position at Essex. The following are designed to support employees new to management, both generally and at Essex, whilst also providing opportunities to stretch managers in specific areas of their management practice.

Contains advice and guidance in a range of formats to support those in management positions. Resources range from ‘quick guides’ to approach people-related challenges, an interactive tool showing different approaches for development at work and the University’s expectations of a manager.

This new policy clarifies the Essential Training that all employees are expected to complete within the first 6 months of employment, whilst all existing employees are expected to complete the Essential Training relevant to their role. All Essential Training can be accessed on the recently developed Welcome to Essex induction moodle resource.

The Welcome to Essex induction resource has been developed to complement local induction so that new employees can settle into their role as effectively as possible. It contains an induction checklist for new employees and for managers to support the new employees and their recruiting manager.

Audience: Managers with 3 or more years of experience (particularly recommended for colleagues with roles in departmental leadership teams)

Duration: 1 ½ days

Content: The course provides opportunities in a safe environment for managers to reflect on their leadership and management styles, using a combination or 360-degree feedback, facilitated feedback from observers and peers, self-reflection and coaching.

Content: The workshop uses a psychometric assessment tool (TKI) to provide participants with the opportunity to understand how they approach conflict situations and how to achieve positive outcomes individually and within teams.

Content: This ‘bitesize’ interactive and informative workshop is intended for managers and senior staff and has been designed to help you develop a strategy that works for you when entering into a difficult conversation. This workshop will provide you with the tools and practice to help you to deliver positive and constructive messages.

Content: This session will brief you on the University’s approach to appraisal and how you can use this most effectively to support the development and enhance the performance of those you are responsible for.The session will provide an opportunity to develop and practice your coaching skills, which will enable you to get the most from appraisal discussions.

Content: Being assertive can make a huge difference to the way you feel about yourself and the way in which other people see you. It can improve the quality of your relationships with colleagues, family and friends as it demonstrates that you have confidence in yourself and respect for others. This course will show you, through discussion and practical exercises, strategies that you can use in your everyday life.

We hope that you find these opportunities useful. If you have any questions or suggestions in relation to these opportunities and resources, please email ldev@essex.ac.uk.